A person, an entity, a company, or an organization that holds shares/stocks in a given company is referred to as a ‘Shareholder of the given company’. Typically, shareholders may expect to receive dividends if the company makes profits. Dividend A dividend is a reward that publicly listed companies extend to their shareholders if the company....
The increasing recognition of the importance of ESG, the world over, is growing continuously, with factors impacting ESG having a bearing on the decision-making process. It is at a nascent stage in India. However, it has already started impacting decision-making and valuation of companies, as many prospective investors focus on ESG standards of the company,....
Companies are owned by shareholders, retail or institutional. In order to ensure that management are transparent with, and accountable to, them, the concept of Corporate Governance has gained increasing currency. While there is no one universal definition of Corporate Governance, the essence of it lies in maximizing the interests of all stakeholders, especially shareholders, and....
The UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 consists of an updated set of principles that emphasize the value of good Corporate Governance, that listed companies can follow, for the long-term sustainable success of the company. These inter alia relate to Board composition, remuneration, shareholder relation, accountability, and audit. The Code is not a rigid set of....
A Code of Corporate Governance sets out high standards for Corporate Governance, and good practices, which a company can adopt to improve its governance levels. In 2020, Italy adopted a new Code, which became applicable from January 2021. The Code applies to all the listed companies on a voluntary basis, with companies who adopt it....
Proxy advisory firms (PAF) are independent advisory firms that advise institutional investors on how to vote on resolutions. For this, and in order to maintain consistency in their advice, they prepare voting guidelines, that objectively mention the basis on which they would arrive at the recommendations. While firming up these voting guidelines, these firms evaluate....
Corporate Governance is the philosophical underpinning of a set of systems, standards, policies, and procedures put in place by a company, to ensure that the business is run in a transparent and efficient manner. It essentially involves safeguarding the interests of all the stakeholders and encouraging a trustworthy, moral, as well as ethical environment in....
Board evaluation is a formal periodic, often annual, evaluation of the Board as a whole, its committees and individual Directors (including the Chairperson). This process seeks to identify areas of improvement, so that the Board can consciously work on them for improving its processes and practices, and delivering better outcomes. The concept of Board evaluation....
ESG refers to Environmental, Social and Governance. Parameters relating to ESG are used by investors to evaluate companies in which they want to invest, or continue staying invested. ESG includes a set of non-financial parameters which aim at measuring the sustainability of a company. ESG has gained a lot of importance in the last decade,....
Corporate Governance is important for the long-term sustainability of a company. There are some important challenges in the Corporate Governance space that should not be lost sight of as they pose continuing challenges to corporates. These are – Asymmetry of information: Asymmetry of information cannot be avoided. However, it should be reduced to the extent....